Outrun - Cyberpunk LitRPG

"Here." I handed the stuff over to Fox. Or, more accurately, I offered them and they kinda just floated over to her. Probably some kind of magic? I wasn't a hundred percent sure. Aetherial Perception was going crazy in the Aether.

"Hmm…" Fox looked over the parts, looking far more confident and in control with something to focus on. They twisted in the air in front of her, feathers twirling. "U-um, th-this will take a minute. C-can one of y-you show Shiro around?"

Vulpes stood up straighter. "I call it-"

"I- damn, beat me to it." Cain stared down his snout at the other Greater Sprite in distaste.

"Gotta be quicker than that." She huffed in amusement and moved over to me, stopping by my side. One of her tails curled around my leg almost possessively. So soft.

"R-right." Fox stood up, moving off to a side chamber. Her six tails swayed around behind her, each twirling and catching the light of the foxfire lanterns. "Cain, go fetch the s-supplies."

That just left Vulpes and I standing around the throne room. I shifted from foot to foot and looked around the place. "So…"

"No need to be nervous. I don't bite. Much, anyway." Vulpes moved around, tugging on my hand with her tail. "A couple floors up, there's a spot with a really nice view."

"Chek." I followed after her. Although the throne room was the main attraction of this massive pavilion, it didn't take up the entire building. We moved through a hall, up a couple sets of stairs, and out onto a balcony overlooking Fox's domain.

I caught my breath when she pushed open the doors to the balcony. From here, we had a perfect view looking down into the mountainous domain of Fox. Slightly further out, barely visible from here, was the featureless void between areas of the Aether.

The mountains themselves were a thing of beauty. I didn't think the Aether could even look this pretty. I was used to my bunker out in the middle of nothingness. To think there were places like this…

I pulled out my phone and took a picture of the place. Mira always showed me pictures of the places she traveled to. She'd probably get a kick out of seeing this. I made sure to get as much of the ornamental gates and ancient looking pavilions as I could. And, of course, the fox sprites. Hard to take a picture without them considering they were everywhere.

I leaned over the balcony railing and glanced at Vulpes. "Uh- mind if I ask you a question?"

The Greater Sprite of Fox shook her head and sat down, staring out at a group of kits playfully fighting at the base of the stairs leading up. "Ask away. I'll answer if I can."

"What are eidolons?" That question had been weighing on my mind heavily since I first got the interface. My curiosity about my benefactors had only grown since then. "I noticed Fox, although she has the most tails, isn't necessarily the best spoken or biggest. No offense. Just- when I think of leaders- well…"

Vulpes glanced up at me, her eyes darting around in thought. "She has many good attributes beyond just the surface level. Tell me, what is it you think Eidolons do?"

"Lead the sprites? Make contracts with Magi?" I shrugged. Never really thought about it. They were always just the magicians behind the curtain.

"Usually, the Greater Sprites take care of all that stuff." Vulpes shoulders lifted into what looked like a shrug. "The Aether is… mutative. There's all sorts of creatures and monsters out there. My lady acts like an anchor, stabilizing all of us sprites as foxes and preventing the worst of the mutations into mindless monstrosities. It takes exceptional bravery and willpower. And don't let her size fool you."

Woah, a lot to pick apart there. Did that mean there were creatures out in the Aether that weren't sprites? I mean, I suspected as much, but I never really thought about it. It made sense though. There was that weird Aether bird back in New Tress City. I'd definitely spotted some wild looking creatures from my bunker too. I always thought they were just weird sprites though.

As for the Aether being mutative, I knew first hand all about that. My body was completely different from before and after I got the interface. Sure, they were more directed mutations, but there was no denying that my genome had been twisted and warped. Just look at my eyes. No way they could be considered human anymore.

If the eidolons were like anchors stabilizing their entire species, then it made so much more sense why sprites followed them outside of just strength. Not that I was calling Fox weak or anything. She had the most tails, and that probably meant she was the strongest? It was like Crow having the most eyes. Hmm… were there eidolons out there that were weaker than their Greater Sprites?

And, I mean, look at Corvin? He broke away from Crow and almost immediately warped into some other creature. He looked far more feral too, but I didn't really know the psychopathic bird beforehand.

Wait- if he succeeded in taking over Crow's position, would all crow sprites mutate to have multiple wings like Corvin? He'd become the new anchor, right? How would that even work? He'd have to fully kill Crow to take over, wouldn't he?

I kinda wished I could talk about this stuff with Corvid. Unfortunately, he couldn't speak… though now that I knew it was an actual magic that allowed the sprites to speak and not an innate ability, it made a bit more sense? Corvid was extremely limited since he came from a Perk and I wasn't actually summoning him. The poor bird could barely even use magic at all.

Hmm… what was the description for his Perk again? I pulled up the interface to read-

Oh… nothing happened. I tried a few more times, but it never answered my call. "Uh- do you know why I can't summon up my Perk list?"

Vulpes dipped her head. "Should be the mountain's anti-scrying enchantments. Keeps the eyes of other Eidolons out unless invited."

Hmm… did that mean the interface was limited inside the domains of other eidolons? No- actually, that meant they probably couldn't read my mind while I was here, didn't it? It wasn't like I was weakened either. My powers, skills, and capabilities were originally granted by the interface, but they were mine. I had the blood, sweat, and tears to prove it. I just couldn't see the interface itself.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

We hung around for about ten more minutes before Vulpes turned back toward the door. "My lady is ready."

"Right." I turned away and followed her back down to the throne room. Fox and Cain were back. The prior looked like she'd been shaved since I last saw her. Her fur wasn't nearly as long.

Fox was buried in her tails, using them like pillows. She immediately darted upright when we entered the hall, pretending she wasn't dozing off. I moved back to where I was originally, standing just before her.

Silence stretched on. It soon turned awkward. We were all just standing around, absolutely silent. I couldn't take it any longer. "Um-"

"Um-" Fox chose that exact moment to start speaking. We both cut ourselves off, making the silence stretch even further.

"Y-you go first-"

"You c-can go ahead-"

Cain's tails twitched behind him, erratically bobbing in every direction. "For Fox sake! It's not that hard!"

"Says you!" Fox shot the Greater Sprite a glare.

"It's not easy either." I muttered almost at the same time.

Fox and I shared a look of understanding. She broke into light laughter, and some of the tension eased up. A silver cloak floated over to me, appearing like it was made from a fox pelt. Or maybe even her own fur? "H-here. T-this is for you."

I grabbed the item. It was incredibly soft and fluffy. "What's this?"

"U-uh- umumum- w-well, you know." She stared at the floor, tails shyly moving up to cover her eyes and snout.

Vulpes shook her head. "Remember our lessons? Use your words, my lady."

"R-r-right! Uh- s-so… you're pretty." Fox froze, immediately burrowing into her tails in embarrassment. Cain snickered beside her and she just seemed to crumple more and more in on herself.

"Y-you too?" I rubbed at my arm.

"Th-th-thanks!" Fox perked up, tails swayed coyly around her. "I-I meant to say you're recognizable. Y-your teacher i-is a human. A-and you need a disguise so h-he won't recognize y-you, right?"

I had Master of Disguise. I doubted he'd recognize me anyway. I didn't say that though. "Yeah?"

"S-so—I m-made that! For you! O-one of a kind artifact. A-and, well, th-there's a bit of a selfish reason too." She shifted from paw to paw. "Sh-should help with the Aether Sickness too."

"Thank you." Helping with Aether Sickness on its own was incredible. It took me a long time to build up enough tolerance I could stay here for even a moderate amount of time.

"Y-yeah. After this, even Echidna will have to a-admit my prowess!" She puffed up her chest, preening on top of her throne. "And don't g-get me started on that obese bird. My artifacts are superior!"

Was she talking about Crow? N-not that I was calling him obese- oh, wait. No mind reading here. Yeah, he was definitely on the larger side. Granted, I didn't have a great vantage point last time I saw him. He looked very… rotund, though. Maybe it was just a bad look with him up in the tree?

I rubbed a hand along the cloak, feeling its soft fur. It even had two fox ears sticking out of the top of the hood. "What's it do?"

"O-one second." I felt a flush of something through the air. Rather, I felt something recede. "Try now."

[Fox's Fluffy Cloak

Shifting Attire - Can change shape to better blend in.

Sprite-Shift - Appear like a fox sprite.

Regenerative - While inactive, it will slowly mend itself.]

"Woah." I stared down at the cloak, hesitating for a moment. My hesitation faded when I caught her hopeful look and I threw it on over my shoulders. Almost immediately, the cloak shrunk down into a silver hoodie with a fox logo emblazoned over my chest. The ears on the hood were still there, but it was much more modern than a cloak.

I shifted, feeling the hoodie pull and brush against me. Wicked. Could it change color though? Silver wasn't a great blend in color… It was impossibly comfortable too, like the moment just before falling asleep. So incredibly soft.

[Fox: See how skilled I am, you wannabes? Don't you wish you were as cool as me? <(˘ ˘ ˘)>]

[Echidna: Impressive, my dear. Sprite-Shift though? How very intriguing. We'll have to discuss the intricacies of such a thing…]

[Crow: Wouldn't have been able to make it without me. Just saying.]

[Fox: Whatever you say fatso. (•̀⤙•́ )]

[Crow: I'm not-]

Magic activated once more and the anti-scrying enchantment turned back on. The interface abruptly shut down, cutting off Crow's message. Fox snickered on her throne and looked up at me with her beautiful sapphire eyes. "S-so, what do you th-think? One of a kind! Unless some other Greater Sprite t-turns against th-their Eidolon and fails an ascension."

"It's nice." I ran a hand down the side of the hoodie. I felt like I could just fall asleep like this. "Whats this about Sprite-Shift though?"

"Oh! Put the hood on!" Fox stood up and bounded over to me, stopping just in front of me.

I followed her directions and pulled the hood over my head. Now what? Was it some kind of illusion magic? Appearing like a fox sprite might be useful for infiltration. It didn't feel active though. Hmm… I focused on using it just like the canteen. I felt a tightness all over my body-

I collapsed to the ground. When I tried to stand up, I slipped and fell again. My legs felt unsteady, like I'd sprinted across an entire city. Fox's tail wrapped around me, entirely covering my whole body and helping me stand. It felt so, so incredibly cozy. No wonder she was dozing off when I came down the stairs-

W-wait- since when were her tails large enough to wrap entirely around me? Unless she'd grown… I looked down at my paws in confusion. Why was I so close to the ground-

Paws?! I looked over myself, spotting silver fur just like Fox's. My voice came out sharp and high-pitched, "Yip?"

"O-oh… maybe we'll have to put off Kinetic training till later." Fox pushed up closer to me, rubbing against my side. She was so much larger than me. The Greater Sprites on either side of her looked like giants in comparison. How tiny was I now that even Fox looked big?!

"Why's she a kit?" Vulpes moved over to us. My body trembled. How could it not? It was fine when she was a little over half my height, but now that she was a giant? It flicked that switch in my brain that told me I should be very, very afraid. Not to mention my everything felt weird like someone stuck me in a blender and made Shiro Slurpies.

"Uh- I don't know… n-no one's m-made anything like this before." Fox shifted, wrapping another plush tail around me just as I started to hyperventilate. It helped a bit.

My breaths were coming sharp and fast. Was I- was I stuck like this? There's no way, right? I thought she was kidding about locking me in the basement, but turning me into a sprite- ugh- why couldn't I get enough air in my chest? My feet- paws? They gave out from below me once more. Fox was now entirely holding me up with her tails.

"She doesn't look so hot." Cain approached with everyone standing over me, I felt tiny. Insignificant. Like a fly on the wall. I thought I'd never feel like this again after taking down Mother and Corvin, and yet here I was-

"U-um, a-are you okay, Shiro?" Fox pushed her snout just in front of my nose- snout? My head churned with confusion as it tried to get used to the new sensations. She snuggled up even closer. It was oddly comforting?

"Yip!" D-did I look okay? I tried to breathe through my nose- it was a mistake. Scents of all different kinds and flavors burned at me with overpowering might. My brain tried to catalog them, but just with that one breath it overwhelmed me to the point I nearly passed out. I felt like I had the first Blackout module in my head once more, burning and melting my brain with wild abandon.

"I think she's having a panic attack." Cain backed away. "Breathe with me, Shiro. Ready? Hoo-hoo haa-haa."

"That's for pregnancy, dunce." I barely saw Vulpes smack the other Greater Sprite with her paw. Everything was fading under the darkness pulling at the edges of my vision. Why was it getting dark? Why couldn't I breathe?

A high-pitched whine broke out of my chest. The last thing I saw was Fox's worried eyes looking down at me.